Another Dorothea

Brushwork, Projects Series

Just last month I had posted my rendering of Dorothea McGowan, in which she was crowned in flowers… There is actually a veritable Candyland out there of Sixties era McGowan photo shoots. Among them, a stunning vignette which is credited as photographed by William Bell. Other than his many other credits when he had worked for Vogue magazine, I had no luck in finding out more about the man.

In this [primarily] oil pastel piece, I knew I could only try to capture the overall mood. Also, there is no monkey to be found in the photo which I worked from. Of course that didn’t prevent me from adding one.

dorothea-in-recline-05-02-2019

Dorothea

Brushwork, Projects Series

As I was sketching Dorothea, otherwise known as Dorothy McGowan, I saw her wide set eyes as similar to Katie Holmes’. Odd, because I rarely think of Katie Holmes…  The photo I sketched from was taken by Irving Penn. My father, who had worked as a commercial photographer, did not have the highest opinion of Irving Penn. Why? I’ll never know.

All said, I’m just nuts for floral crowns. Adding the purple-blue and yellow was felicity on my part.

 

Oil pastel sketch of Dorothea McGowan 1961 photo by Irving Penn

Dorothea

6″ x 8″, Water soluble oil pastels and color pencils.